Key result
Standardized shoulder support added to conventional rehabilitation did not reduce ultrasonographic shoulder subluxation vs rehabilitation alone at 7 weeks.
Why the study?
The effectiveness of a standardized shoulder support in reducing ultrasonographically measured shoulder subluxation, alleviating pain, and improving upper limb motor function and functional independence in stroke survivors needed evaluation.
Does adding a standardized shoulder support to conventional rehabilitation reduce ultrasonographic shoulder subluxation, alleviate pain, and improve upper limb motor function and functional independence in stroke survivors?
RCT (n=40)
Single-blind (assessor-blinded)
1:1 random allocation
Does adding a standardized shoulder support to conventional rehabilitation reduce ultrasonographic shoulder subluxation, alleviate pain, and improve upper limb motor function and functional independence in stroke survivors?
Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.
Adding a standardized shoulder support to conventional post-stroke rehabilitation provides no additional benefit over 7 weeks for reducing shoulder subluxation, pain, or improving upper-limb motor function and independence.
OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the effectiveness of a standardized shoulder support in reducing shoulder subluxation, alleviating pain, and improving upper limb motor function and functional independence in stroke survivors using ultrasonography as the primary outcome measure for subluxation. METHODS: In this single-blind randomized controlled trial, 40 stroke survivors with clinically confirmed shoulder subluxation were randomly allocated to either an intervention group (n = 20) or a control group (n = 20). Both groups received conventional rehabilitation consisting of 45-min sessions, 5 days per week, over a seven-week period. Participants in the intervention group additionally wore a standardized shoulder support during waking hours. Outcome evaluations were performed at baseline (before the intervention), week 3 (mid-intervention), and week 7 (end of the intervention) by independent assessors (physicians and rehabilitation therapists) who were blinded to group allocation. The primary and secondary endpoints included ultrasonographic measurement of the Acromion-Greater Tuberosity (AGT) distance, pain intensity assessed by the visual analog scale (VAS), upper extremity motor performance measured with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA), and functional independence evaluated using the Functional Independence Measure (FIM). RESULTS: Within-group analyses revealed statistically significant changes in shoulder subluxation (p = 0.02), pain reduction (p < 0.001), upper limb function (p < 0.05), and functional independence (p = 0.001) in both groups over time. However, between-group comparisons showed no significant differences in any of the outcome measures (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Adding a standardized shoulder support to conventional rehabilitation did not produce a statistically significant additional benefit over 7 weeks in reducing shoulder subluxation, pain, or improving upper-limb motor function and functional independence. The observed changes over time should be interpreted in the context of rehabilitation received by both groups, spontaneous recovery, and other time-related factors cannot be distinguished.
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Miri et al. (2026) conducted an RCT in Stroke survivors with shoulder subluxation (n=40). Standardized shoulder support vs. Conventional rehabilitation alone (45-min sessions, 5 days/week) was evaluated on Ultrasonographic measurement of the Acromion-Greater Tuberosity (AGT) distance for shoulder subluxation (p=>0.05). Standardized shoulder support added to conventional rehabilitation did not reduce ultrasonographic shoulder subluxation vs rehabilitation alone at 7 weeks.
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